Lost Purpose
by Ivy the Wombat
Summary: Another agonizing rainy night turns into one of hope. Super short oneshot. Mephadow.


Rain collided with pavement, a million little droplets of water dancing across puddles as a black hedgehog trudged slowly through the downpour. Above was a black abyss, the night sky seeming to suck all forms of light into its greedy belly.

Shadow peered at the buildings towering above him, most of them pitch black, which was appropriate at three in the morning. The citizens of Central City slept peacefully around him, the inhabitants all warm in their beds. Blissful. Safe. Loved.

Accepted.

He shook his head and continued walking, his expression stony and cold. Visions of happy humans and anthros alike danced tauntingly in his head. A couple sharing a kiss. A child laughing at a joke. Birth. Life. Death. Beginning. Middle. End.

Where was his life? Where was his end?

The world had turned its back on him, so he had turned his back on the world, no longer caring about his fate, much less theirs. He had lost all contact with his friends and colleagues, distancing himself until he had completely backed out of their life. Mostly out of selfishness, not being able to bear to see them grow old, start families, be happy, while he was trapped in an eternally unchanging body, no hope of escape. He had even lost contact with Omega, one of his only friends. Besides Rouge, of course.

Rouge.

The one and only person he had regretted abandoning.

Shadow would absent-mindedly daydream about what had become of his dear friend sometimes. Sometimes he would imagine an entire life for her. Sometimes she would marry Knuckles the Echidna, or find another suitable partner, even. Another bat. He would be well-to-do, owning a small but successful company. And they would live in a nice house. And have a child.

Sighing, snapping back to reality, he would realize he would never truly know. He would be forever living in fantasies of her being happy.

After all, he hadn't spoken to her in more than twenty years.

For all he knew, she could be long dead.

The black hedgehog stopped at a street corner and leaned against the base of the stoplight, the metal cold and hard against his back. A speeding car raced by, spraying water every which way. In the distance, a faint siren could be heard.

He shivered violently, noticing how much colder he felt in the rain when he wasn't moving. He slid down and hugged his knees to his chest, trying to restore some warmth into his body. He hummed a song he had long forgotten the words to. Anything to keep the silence away. To not be alone with just his thoughts. The thoughts that had kept him company for all this time. His only friends.

His only enemies.

Closing his eyes, the black hedgehog almost instantly went into a light doze, lulled by the downpour of water that enveloped him. Instead of the cold biting into him, it now seemed to cradle him, to comfort him. It was no longer unpleasant as he relished the precious rest that had eluded him so much recently.

Shadow remained in that position, drifting in and out of different states of consciousness for countless minutes, listening to the pattern of the showers. Monotonous. Never changing.

Splash, splash, splash.

A change in the pattern.

Footsteps.

The black hedgehog kept still, hoping whoever it was would walk away, passing him off as a hobo.

No such luck.

The footsteps drew closer just the same, then stopped. He continued to keep still, hoping against hope that the stranger would leave him be.

"Shadow...?" A hauntingly familiar voice drifted into his ears. Shadow's head snapped up, shocked.

He scrambled to his feet, coming face to face with a mirror image of himself, the only difference being that it had dark gray fur with lighter highlights, a white muzzle, clear, transparent rings...

And piercing, reptilian green eyes.

The creature looked perplexed, his mouth hanging open slightly as he stared at the black hedgehog in wonder. Shadow felt his mind flood with faded memories of years ago, of the deeply rooted rivalry and battle between himself and the demon standing before him. But all of the feelings felt before had long been vanquished by the cruel hands of time, leaving nothing behind.

Shadow again found himself shivering uncontrollably. "M-m-Mephiles... your s-s-supposed... to be d-d-dead..."

The demon was slowly brought out of his trance-like state as he looked the hedgehog up and down. "You're soaked." Mephiles pointed out. "Here, let's find a location that's not so... water-logged. We'll talk more there." He turned around and stepped out onto the street, motioning for the hedgehog to follow. The two crossed the street and found shelter under an awning. Shadow leaned back against the building and closed his eyes, trying to control his shivering so it wasn't to noticeable as he squeezed water out of his quills and fur.

Mephiles was perfectly content with standing. "So, you say I'm supposed to be dead...?"

"You were destroyed." The black hedgehog stated, mystified. "You were erased from existence."

"Well, in a way. Yes, I was."

"What do you mean?"

The demon leaned against the wall, staring into space. "Well, when the flame of Solaris was extinguished, I was, in fact, erased from existence. But since I had time traveled so much before hand, I had multiple clones of myself in multiple realities and time lines. When my youngest self was destroyed, all the alternate versions of me were destroyed along with it, but somehow, through some sort of strange phenomenon, I managed to survive."

Shadow glanced up at Mephiles, seeing a sudden emptiness in his emerald eyes.

"Strange how some things work out." The black hedgehog said casually.

"Indeed." The demon turned his head toward Shadow. "Do you have a purpose, Shadow?"

He shook his head. "I thought I did, long ago. But it's gone now..."

"I suspected as much. Then we understand each other. We are both immortal beings who have lost their purpose, living in a world of mortals who will never know anything about us. My lust for destruction has long burned out; your purpose has been lost as well. What a cruel world we live in, cursing us to live forever with no one but ourselves."

Shadow felt an abrupt sense of unity with the demon as he listened to him talk. He had finally found someone who knew how he felt, who actually cared, someone he could relate to.

Someone that wouldn't disappear into a fantasy.

"Mephiles..."

"Hm?"

"We don't have to be by ourselves."

"What are you saying?"

"We can be friends. Like you said, we understand each other. We're all we've got in this world, so we might as well use it to get something out of this pile of shit we've been given." Shadow stood up, still shivering slightly. He stuck his hand out. "So how about it?"

Mephiles glanced at Shadow's outstretched hand for a moment, then he shook it firmly, smiling. "I've never had a friend before..."

As the black hedgehog grasped the demon's hand, he almost gasped. Mephiles' hand was comfortably warm, the perfect antidote to his icy body.

"Mephiles, you're so... warm..."

The demon chuckled. "Sit back down."

Shadow obliged as Mephiles sat down next to him, scooting close. His body heat almost immediately relieved the black hedgehog of his chills.

The rain had subsided a bit, so now the two just watched the small drops drizzle the streets. Shadow's eyes drooped as he subconsciously scooted closer to Mephiles, leaning his head on the demon's shoulder and wrapping his arms around him. Mephiles smiled tenderly and kissed him on the forehead as Shadow drifted off to sleep.

'Maybe I've found my purpose...' Shadow thought.


End file.
